Minor girl forced into marriage in Bengaluru; police register case

Bengaluru: The Ashoknagar police have registered a case after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly married off at a masjid in Anepalya on September 26.

The FIR was filed on September 28 after Pundalik, a government official, lodged a complaint with child helpline 1098. He alleged that the girl was forced into marriage by her parents, under the watch of masjid members.

When officials visited the masjid the following day, they were told no child marriage had taken place, though the girl had been wed under Islamic customs. The same day, the helpline received photographs and videos of the alleged marriage. The police booked the case under relevant sections of the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

In a separate complaint, advocate Hussain Owais S wrote to DG&IGP MA Saleem and Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, stating the nikah ceremony was performed by Mir Kaim, a suspected Waqf Board member. He also named Sujat Ali, Hasan Raza, and Azan Jafari.

"It has come to my knowledge from the general public that the girl may be pregnant, which can be confirmed only after a proper medical examination. Under the Pocso Act, any sexual relationship with the girl, despite marriage, would amount to statutory rape,” he wrote.